Residential architect Andre Rothblatt lives in Bernal Heights, and he recently finished a very wild project: a Steampunk Bathroom. In an email to us, Andre explains:
The bathroom was part of a whole house remodel of a Craftsmen-style home is located in Ashbury Heights. The clients are 30-something techies; He’s a computer engineer and she reviews patent application. They introduced me to the Steampunk genre. I’ve always enjoyed industrial design influences in architecture, and I was enthusiastic to design the bathroom in that style. We were lucky to find a great contractor (Frederic Grasset, also Bernal Heights resident!) who teamed with us to realize this imaginative design.
Need a last-minute gift idea for the kids in your life? Neighbor Matt contacted Bernalwood to tell us about the educational toy he created:
I live on Anderson Street, 13 years now already. Back then I was making computer games. But then the powers that be began looking into making even the golf games violent. I knew it was time to move on. I took time off and pursued patenting something that was the opposite of the computer game: battery free; non electronic; hand held; educational; and real. My effort took 10 years. I founded Twisterz Toys 2 years ago. We are now in 250 retail stores across the country, and in Barnes and Noble, and in 7 countries. We’ve won several awards, and our reviews have been excellent. This might all sound good, but we remain on the brink. My biz partner and I chose a tough time for a start up toy company.
The closest retailer that sells our toys is Peekabootique in Noe Valley. Check us out if you’re looking for battery free edu-toys for kids 3-10.
Neighbor Lauren Becker has been busy of late, creating industrial-chic tableware from recycled glass. This weekend she’s having an open studio at Recycled Glassworks on Bonview to release some of her new work:
Ever wondered why Bernal Heights doesn’t have any traffic lights once you leave the “flatlands” of Mission/Cesar Chavez/Bayview?
I have them. Sort of.
I just got a good load of traffic lights lenses in — thrown out by surrounding neighborhoods. When they leave my art studio, they have been turned into eye-catching plates. In my Bernal studio, I have been upcycling plate glass into functional tableware for many years. Usually I create artful bowls and dishes from windows, which were discarded by contractors or homeowners nearby.
Occasionally, traffic light lenses come my way. The traffic light dishes are a rare sighting because most glass lenses have already been replaced by more efficient LED lights. If you hate red lights, here is your revenge: eat from them!
This weekend, for the first time, I will open the doors for a Holiday Open Studio where the neighbors can see the entire collection:
Saturday/Sunday (Dec 17/18), noon to 5pm at 238 Bonview St (half a block from Cortland Ave, around the corner from Avedanos).
La Principessa Errante, a blog about San Francisco art and architecture, has the answer. The sculpture is called Odonatoa, and it was created by Joyce Hsu:
Born in Hong Kong, Joyce Hsu received her BFA from the Mount Allison University in Canada in 1996 and her MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998. She works out of Oakland and creates all kinds of mechanical sculptures.
This kinetic sculpture of painted stainless is one of many insects that Joyce has created.
Though it’s often the subject of scorn and sanctimonious head-shaking, Sutro Tower is also beloved by an underground army of devoted fans who appreciate it as San Francisco’s second-most iconic piece of landscape architecture. (Number One, of course being that famous International Orange bridge.) Monumental and futuristic, Sutro Tower fanboys and fangirls often express their affection via loving photographs, clever t-shirt graphics, and even permanent tattoos.
But for the sophisticated devotee who craves a 3-D representation of Sutro Tower, the options have been very, very limited. Until now. Through the miracle of modern laser-cutting technology, a local whiz named Aidan now offers 1/1000 wooden models of Sutro Tower for sale on Etsy, and they are superb.
La Lengua rebel leader (and Sutro Tower fetishist) Burrito Justice captured this spycam video footage inside the secret “Mini-Sutro Manufacturing Facility” located 2000′ below the El Farolito burrito shop on Mission at 24th Street. Here’s how the magic happens:
I ordered one last week, and it arrived two days ago. Here’s how it looked when it arrived:
And here’s how it looked after 5 minutes of fun, hands-on, assembly — no tools or glue required:
Now, as my new model sits on my dresser, I can savor the luxury of admiring Sutro Tower from the safety and comfort of my bed, anytime day or night — even when the real Sutro Tower is obscured by a a brooding blanket of fog. Peekaboo!
While the rest of us were carousing on Cortland Street for the Summer Solstice Stroll, Citizen Sarah attended the San Francisco Police Department community meeting at Ingleside Station on Tuesday evening. Afterward, she did us all the great service of summarizing what transpired. There’s tons of detail to digest, but this is must-read information, so let’s dive right in:
Notes from Ingleside Community Meeting, 6/21/11
This was the first meeting led by the new captain, Daniel Mahoney. He started on the job three weeks ago. He spent some time on his background. He has been with SFPD for 29 years, and he was on the night watch at Ingleside about 10 years ago. In the interim, he worked at the Hall of Justice in various capacities, including head of the special investigations unit and commander of the Office of the Chief of Staff (which oversees community relations, internal affairs, legal, etc.). He also holds top secret clearance with the FBI. He was the other finalist for the chief job that was ultimately offered to Greg Suhr. He came across as a very senior figure, if that makes sense — someone who is very experienced with the entire police system and infrastructure. Ideally, this will be positive for the neighborhoods that make up the Ingleside District.
He considers his policing priorities to be (1) responding to emergency calls well, (2) solving crimes, and (3) community policing. With respect to community policing, he said that arrests alone don’t solve problems – you must have community involvement to do so. His approach to solving problems involves both education and enforcement.
Other attendees at this meeting were Captain John Feeney, head of the night watch at Ingleside (and overseeing the entire city), 7pm-5am; Ed McMahon (no, not that one) from the Office of Citizen Complaints, which oversees complaints against officers; and Chief Rubenstein of Fire Battalion 9.
Crime Update:
I asked about the May 11 Holly Court homicides, and he could not say much since the investigation is being run out of the main SFPD investigations unit and they are restricted on what they can reveal. I also asked about the May 23 manhunt in Bernal (involving a CHP plane and heavily armed SFPD officers), but it was before he started, and he did not know about it, so the mystery will continue for now.
I also asked about the thefts of succulents and other plants in Bernal, and he was not aware of them. PLEASE report these if you have experienced such a theft – call 553-0123. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Reporting all crimes is critical because so much of modern policework is managed via statistical analytics. No report = no data = no resource allocation.] Another attendee said that succulents from the San Jose/Guerrero mini-park had been taken, and she had had a rosemary bush stolen from in front of her house.
Captain Mahoney discussed city-wide and Ingleside-specific crime statistics for the May 22 to June 18 period. In general and in Ingleside, crime is down. The exceptions are robberies and automobile break-ins. Robberies continue to involve iPhones and other electronic devices. He called the ubiquitous white earbuds “attractors” that signal to a thief that you’ve got something valuable. People leaving BART stations continue to be targets. The typical situation is that the robber will spot someone walking alone and then rob them one or more blocks away from the BART station, especially on a less-trafficked side street. There have been two recent robberies on Thor, which is off of Chenery in Glen Park – one was at 5pm and the other at 12:30am. The captain is deploying decoys and plainclothes officers and also trying to figure out other ways to increase the police presence in these areas, given that they don’t have any additional budget to work with. He also mentioned putting decoys with iPads on MUNI routes that have seen thefts.
Auto break-ins continue. Shaved keys that work with older Japanese cars (Honda, Toyota, Nissan in particular) are used most of the time – there are few actual break-ins with these cars. If you own one of these, he said to get an engine-kill switch and/or a steering-wheel club. If you have a GPS device, thieves will break in if they see the disk mount on the dashboard, even if you’ve removed the GPS unit itself. They will assume it is in the car somewhere.
He mentioned two good arrests – one on Alpha Street in Vis Valley, when an elderly woman called 911 during an attempted break-in, and the police caught the burglar and tied him to a recent armed burglary in the Bayview. The other robbery occurred on the 3100 block of Mission on Monday night, when thieves stole an iPhone 4. The victim had the Find My iPhone app, which then allowed SFPD and the victim to follow the phone to 14th and Valencia, where the police arrested the robbers.
Initiatives:
Captain Mahoney said he is not a fan of vehicle enforcement to raise revenue for the city, but he will do it in so far as it promotes public safety. He plans to have pedestrian decoys (decoy pedestrians?) at various crosswalks to catch cars that don’t yield. He also wants the officers to focus on the five intersections with the most traffic accidents, one of which is 30th/Mission. Finally, he plans to undertake a distracted-driver campaign to catch people texting or using their phone sans earpiece. He does not mind having this information out there, he said, because his goal is to get people to stop doing the targeted act (texting, not yielding, etc), not to issue tickets.
Of particular interest to the Bernal community is that Captain Mahoney is trying to restore, even partially, some level of foot patrols on Cortland. There is no new money for this, but he proposed, for example, having officers park on Cortland and walk around for an hour or so to make sure that they are known to and connecting with members of the community (vs. driving around for their entire shift).
Other:
There is a Police Commission meeting in the community next Weds., 6/29, at 6pm. The meeting is in Vis Valley at 450 Raymond Street. He said there would be plenty of security at the meeting.
There was some discussion of staffing at Ingleside. The station has 109 officers with a goal of 115, which is unlikely given the budget and impending retirements. He said that in the next three years, 500 SFPD officers will be eligible for retirement; meanwhile, because of budget issues, there are NO police academy classes scheduled for 2011/12. During his interviews for the chief job, Captain Mahoney advocated hiring trained officers as lateral hires from all of the area police forces that are doing major layoffs (e.g., Oakland, San Jose) because it is an opportunity to get excellent officers who require much less training (and therefore expense). He is concerned about how SFPD will deal with the America’s Cup in 2013, which will be a 44-day event and will require a great deal of security.
Chief Rubenstein from Battalion 9 spoke about emergency preparedness. He encouraged everyone to go to www.72hours.org and get prepared for an earthquake. He also encouraged people to become volunteers for the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) by undergoing NERT training and certification.
Here’s a revolutionary-chic fashion statement for Northside commuters and Southside fans of the 30th Street BART station.
Creator Jeffrey Doker says:
I live in the ‘Wood (Shotwell and Precita). I recently made a BART-themed shirt that I think SF people might love. I know BART doesn’t actually service Bernalwood directly, but I figured I’d give it a shot.
Last weekend I found a must-have accessory for high-powered Bernal Heights executives who travel regularly for business.
I got it at “Cries of San Francisco,” a pop-up event in Mint Plaza downtown that was organized by the artsy folk at Southern Exposure:
The Cries of San Francisco is an interdisciplinary project that invites participants to make and sell crafted wares on Market Street, while “crying out” publicly on subjects of their own choosing. Merchants of food, flowers, sand, and matches; charcoal vendors and chimney-sweeps; basket sellers, knife and scissor grinders, chair menders, and love song writers: in urban folklore, whether as trickster border-crossers or as anchorless outcasts, street criers represent a liminal space between worlds. Questioning the essentialized personification of trades that historically locate economies of craft in and on the body, and by using the framework of historic street cries to articulate new subject positions, this project presents participants with an opportunity to consider their roles in historical processes.
Yeah. That. Anyway, one the peddlers was selling these cute pocket-sized transparency viewers, each of which contained an image of a San Francisco neighborhood. There was even one for Bernal Hill:
Of course I bought it. And when I held it up to my eye, here’s what I saw inside:
Oooh! Genius! A high-tech marvel! An instant cure for homesickness! Never runs out of batteries! Fits easily in any pocket, purse, or briefcase. Can be used anytime, in any hotel, aircraft, or mahogany-lined corporate boardroom! Someone needs to start selling these on Cortland Avenue — and in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
Contrary to the way it may appear, that spiffy area of freshly landscaped land on the northeast corner of Bernal Hill (on Bernal Heights Boulevard between Carver and Bradford) is NOT part of the new house that sits right behind it.
Readers who are not native to Bernalwood might be forgiven for saying, “Yeah. Cute. Nice lanscaping. Whatever.”
That would be a mistake, however, because the locals all know the tip: Our new Vista Pointe offers a multi-billion dollar view of downtown San Francisco, in a comfy parquito that will provide a nice alternative to the unmanicured wilds of Bernal Hill. Put another way, this is a superb new location for simple picnics, sunset Happy Hours, or hipster weddings.
So Vista Pointe is pretty fabulous. Savor it, enjoy the view, protect it, and THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this happen.
Supervisor David Campos’s office called today to share some very good news: Campos plans to introduce new legislation that will amend the City’s planning code to create a straightforward mechanism for preserving the historic-but-endangered Coca-Cola mural in Bernal Heights — as well as other historic signs throughout San Francisco. Wooot!
The legislative digest of the Campos proposal explains why this matters:
The look and style of signs have evolved over time. For that reason, a sign that has existed in a particular place for years gives continuity to the public space and becomes part of the community memory. In an era where signs are mostly uniform, a historic sign can add some individuality to the neighborhood in which it exists and also to the City as a whole. Michael J. Auer, in his article “The Preservation of Historic Signs,” notes:
Signs often become so important to a community that they are valued long after their role as commercial markers has ceased. They become landmarks, loved because they have been visible at certain street corners — or from many vantage points across the city — for a long time. Such signs are valued for their familiarity, their beauty, their humor, their size, or even their grotesqueness. In these cases, signs transcend their conventional role as vehicles of information, as identifiers of something else. When signs reach this stage, they accumulate rich layers of meaning. They no longer merely advertise, but are valued in and of themselves. They become icons.
Yes. Precisely. Just as Bernalwood and so many of our neighbors have argued all along.
In a nutshell, the new legislation would:
Create a clear definition of a historic sign as being one that “depict(s) in text or graphic form a particular residential, business, cultural, economic, recreational, or other valued resource which is deemed by the Planning Commission to be of historic value and contributes to the visual identity and historic character of a City neighborhood or the City as a whole.”
Stipulate that historic sings can be restored, framed, and regularly maintained, BUT property owners cannot change the art or copy of the original design.
Enable preservation of a single sign through a standard conditional-use permit issued by the City Planning Commision, without the need to go through all the hassle, expense, and hoo-ha of creating a special “Historic Sign District.”
This is great news, because it holds out the promise of a lasting solution not only for Bernalwood’s beloved Coke mural, but for historic signs throughout the city. Bravo!
Kudos to Supervisor Campos and his aides for making this happen, to the City Attorney’s office for the assist, and a round of snaps to every Bernalwoodian who raised hell to make it clear that the eradication of Bernal’s Coca-Cola mural was intolerable.
Supervisor Campos plans to introduce the legislation during the Board of Supervisors meeting that will take place this afternoon. From there it will go to a committee (probably Land Use), yadda yadda, then (hopefully) it will secure approval during two votes of the full Board of Supes before heading off to the Mayor for his John Hancock. Or his Edwin Lee. Or whatever.
We will keep you posted on the status and progress of this proposal as it moves through the lawmaking process, but for now, this is great news for our neighborhood, and for the fate of other historic signs all over town.
A broken coffee cup, a ceramic figurine, and a shrunken dolly-head.
There’s something so quintessentially Bernal about this odd collection of ornaments that decorates a tree in front of a home on the western end of Precita Avenue.
Now the bad news: Supervisor David Campos is apparently unsure if the Coca-Cola mural is worth saving. Dozens of Bernal residents have told us that the mural generates a tangible sense of joy and connection to the neighborhood. But Supervisor Campos says he’s worried about the theoretical risk that a 70 year-old mural might encourage childhood obesity. Or something. (Why am I experiencing such an unpleasant sense of deja vu?)
“We haven’t really taken a position either way,” Campos said. “We want to hear more from the neighborhood.”
He said he’s already received a handful of passionate e-mails from both sides.
“We’re trying to fight childhood obesity,” he said. “We don’t want to promote kids drinking Coca-Cola.”
Campos will need to make a decision quickly.
Indeed he will. Because while he mulls, the clock is ticking, and the City Planning Department continues to demonstrate an unsettling myopia about the mural. Both the letter and the spirit of the law are obviously open to interpretation in a scenario like this, yet such subtleties are lost on the City’s zealous apparatchiks — history, context, common sense, and neighborhood sentiment be damned.
Campos, meanwhile, says he needs more time to lick his finger, point it in the air, and take the measure of the political winds.
That suggests he needs you to offer guidance, fellow citizen. Campos told the Chron that he wants to “hear more from the neighborhood.” So why not deliver some of the clarity that he finds so elusive? Supervisor Campos can be reached here:
One final note: Bernalwood attempted to contact Supervisor Campos last week, but our email to him received no reply. However, if Supervisor Campos feels that he was misrepresented in the Chronicle, or if he would like to clarify the record regarding his position on the historic Coca-Cola mural, Bernalwood would be pleased to publish his statement in full. Our email is bernalwood at gmail dot com, and operators are standing by.
As you may recall, after a whinging NIMBY complained to the City about the presence of the vintage Coca-Cola mural at the corner of Tompkins and Banks, the City gave the property owner a February 24 deadline to present evidence that the artwork at 601 Tompkns pre-dates San Francisco’s 1965 sign ordinances.
In our quest to acquire said evidence, we got some big help from the sleuths at Burrito Justice, who proved conclusively that the property at 601 Tompkins was a corner store called Tiptons Grocery until roughly the late 1960s. But today — three days before our City-imposed deadline — we are happy to report that Bernalwood obtained conclusive proof that the sign is, in fact, way old.
Over the weekend, Bernalwood established contact with the homeowner, Mr. Richard Modolo. Mr. Modolo was away on vacation last week, but now he’s tanned, rested, and ready for a bureaucratic tussle. Even better, he’s got the historic goods. Let’s establish the facts:
FACT: Mr. Modolo has lived in Bernal Heights since 1954. He attended Paul Revere School, right across the street from the disputed Coca-Cola artwork, and he has vivid memories of Tipton’s Grocery store from when it was still in operation. Actually, “Mrs. Tips” (as the kids caller her) made his lunch every day. As we chatted in the very space that Tipton’s Grocery once occupied, Mr. Modolo gestured toward the spot where Mrs. Tips used to stand behind the counter, and told this story:
FACT: The vintage Coca-Cola artwork is, properly speaking, a “ghost sign.” Mr. Modolo explained that the mural re-appeared in 1991, when he removed the asbestos siding that had long covered the building. A thick layer of tar paper preserved the handpainted artwork through the decades, so it looked almost-new when it finally saw the light of day again.
Here’s how the building looked when the asbestos siding was still in place:
And (… drumroll…) here’s how the Coke artwork looked in 1991, immediately after the siding was removed:
At the time, Mr. Modolo added, he simply planned to paint over the ghost sign. But neighbors intervened, begging him to keep it in place. And so he has, repainting it three times during the last 20 years.
FACT: The ghost sign pre-dates the City’s 1965 regulations by at least a decade, and almost certainly more. How do we know this? Simple: The asbestos siding at 601 Tompkins was installed in 1949 and 1956, which means the sign was in place before it was covered over. And how do we know those dates? That’s simple too: Mr. Modolo has the permit history from the City’s Department of Building Inspection:
FACT: The design of the mural suggests it dates from the mid-1940s. Burrito Justice has stayed on the case, and he’s been Tweeting with an archivist from the Coca-Cola company, who says “The “silhouette girl” logo was used as early as 1939.”
The girl in the image is referred to in “Coke Lore” as Silhouette Girl. She was used from 1939 until around 1950 when she fell out of use. She is significant in dating items as she was one of the few characters that was used during the time we transitioned our “Trademark Registered” statement from the tale of the C in “Coca” to being placed under the words “Coca-Cola.” This transition occurred between 1941 and 1942.
The first thing I noticed with the sign was the mark was under the words so it had to be later than 1942.
So, game, set, match, right?
Not quite. Bernalwood has been in touch with Mr. Dan Sider from the Planning Department’s General Advertising Sign Program. This situation regarding our Coca-Cola is “entirely novel” and without precedent, he says. “Our staff has processed nearly 1,800 general advertising signs in the City,” Mr. Sider says. “Not once have neighbors wanted to preserve a sign, much less have they taken the initiative to repaint and restore a sign on their own accord.” Hey, what can we say, other than Welcome to Bernalwood.
Much now hinges on how the City decides to classify the artwork. Is it a “general advertising sign” or a “business sign?” Neither approach is ideal, as each comes with significant legal downsides. So perhaps Bernalwood can suggest an easy solution? Maybe it’s not a sign at all! And maybe it stopped being advertising sometime during the Truman Administration. Perhaps it’s really a “historic commercial mural!”Or something like that.
FACT: Homeowner Richard Modolo wants to keep the vintage Coca-Cola mural in place, as is, and if the dozens of comments Bernalwood has received are any indication, a nontrivial number of his neighbors do as well. Mr. Modolo says, “For better or worse, this building was once a grocery store, and this is part of the history of this neighborhood.” That’s now a confirmed fact too.
Bernalwood 